Harold T. Sakata (1920 - 1982) - Find A Grave Memorial Honolulu County Hawaii, USA Actor. A native of Holualoa, Hawaii, he is best remembered for his role as henchman 'Oddjob' in the James Bond spy film, "Goldfinger" in 1964. His character's weapon of choice was a razor-rimmed bowler hat, that could pass for a frisbee. The film also starred German actor Gert Frobe in the title role.

Other credits include the films, "Seventeenth Heaven" (1965), "Operation Gold" (1966), "The Poppy Is Also A Flower" (1966), "Dimension 5" (1966), "The Phynx" (1970), "Sarge" (1971), "The Wrestler" (1974), "Impulse" (1974), "Mako: The Jaws Of Death" (1976), "The Happy Hooker Goes To Washington" (1977), "Record City" (1978), "Death Dimension" (1978), "Goin' Coconuts" (1978), "The Billion Dollar Threat" (1979), "The Ninja Strikes Back" (1982), "Invaders Of The Lost Gold" (1982), and "Mad Mission III: Our Man From Bond Street" (1984), released after his death.

On television, Sakata played the role of 'Cheng' in the short-lived series, "Highcliffe Manor" in 1979, and that of 'Ramoo' in the "Gilligan's Island" episode, "The Hunter", which aired on January 16, 1967. He also appeared in "The Amazing Spider-Man", "Hawaii Five-O", "The Blue Knight", "Police Woman", "The Rockford Files", "Quincy, M.E.", and "Kraft Suspense Theatre." Born Toshiyuki Sakata of Japanese descent, he was also an avid sportsman from a very young age. He became interested in wrestling and won a silver medal in that sport in the light heavyweight division at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London, England. He later became a professional wrestler under the name of 'Tosh Togo,' and became known for throwing salt in the eyes of his opponent. He was later discovered by James Bond film producers Albert R. Broccoli and Harry Saltzman, and went onto the role that made him famous. He passed away from cancer in Honolulu, Hawaii, at the age of 62.

Harold Sakata - James Bond Actors Liver Cancer Summary Harold Sakata was an actor and weightlifter most famous for his stunning performance as Oddjob in the James Bond film Goldfinger (1964). Biography Harold Sakata was born in Hawaii as Toshiyuki Sakata, changing his name to Harold when he moved to a more central part of America. In his late teens, Harold was lean and somewhat underweight, so he started lifting weights to build himself up. He became a professional weightlifter, and at the age of 28 won a silver medal for the United States in the Summer Olympics Light-Heavyweight event, lifting an astounding 380 pounds. His weightlifting background led him into professional wrestling where he became a champion in several competitions under the name Tosh Togo. Prior to playing Oddjob in the 1964 James Bond movie Goldfinger, Harold had absolutely no acting experience. But his strong build and muscular appearance won him the non speaking role of Oddjob, Goldfinger's personal bodyguard. After this legendary performance, Harold starred in many other films, sometimes playing characters similar to Oddjob. Milton Reid, a professional wrestler who had played Dr.

No's bodyguard in the first James Bond film Dr. No , had initially challenged Sakata to a wrestling match, with the idea that the winner would play Oddjob. The producers however, didn't want to reuse actors, so they chose Harold without the match ever taking place. Roles in James Bond Movies Goldfinger (1964) as Oddjob Sometimes credited as Harold Odd Job Sakata and Tosh Togo During the shooting of Goldfinger, Harold weighed 284 pounds 10 actors you didn't know were wrestlers 10 actors you didn't know were wrestlers February 28, 2013 email Believe it or not, The Rock isn’t the only competitor to make a successful transition from the ring to Hollywood. For many Superstars, the canvas is their bread and butter. But for some, competing in the squared circle is a lesser-known second job, or even a brief hobby, taken up on their way to a career on the silver screen. WWE.com dug deep into the history books to uncover the forgotten ring careers of ten actors you’ve seen in some classic flicks. From mob movie heavies to Batman and Bond villains, who knew these dudes were once wrestlers?

Who are you most surprised to learn was a wrestler? Vote now! Discover more about the history of the squared circle on WWE Network , featuring every pay-per-view ever, and other rare footage from wrestling lore. Jeep Swenson Before Tom Hardy was hijacking airplanes and blowing up football stadiums as Bane in “The Dark Knight Rises,” the muscle-bound Batman villain was portrayed by former professional wrestler Robert Swenson in 1997’s “Batman & Robin.” The 6-foot-4, 405-pounder was nicknamed Jeep thanks to his truck-like build. Claiming to have the largest biceps in the world, Swenson had two notable cups of coffee in the ring. The first was competing in Fritz Von Erich’s fabled World Class Championship Wrestling organization during its last years in the late 1980s when he faced off against the legendary Bruiser Brody outdoors at Texas Stadium . Several years later, Swenson re-emerged in March 1996 in WCW as The Ultimate Solution , the newest member of The Alliance to End Hulkamania.

Although stacked with brawlers like Kevin Sullivan and Meng, the faction fell to Hulk Hogan & Randy Savage in a “Doomsday Cage Match” at Uncensored . That same year, the big man appeared in the Adam Sandler vehicle “Bulletproof,” where he was the bodyguard for a crime boss played by James Caan. Tyler Mane In a peculiar twist to the familiar narrative of famous grapplers trying their hand at acting, Tyler Mane started out as an overlooked wrestler, but gained significantly more success as an actor in his post-ring career. After competing in Japan, Mane arrived in WCW during November 1989 as the towering Nitron , an associate of the tag team of Ron Simmons & Butch Reed known as Doom. The imposing 6-foot-9 bodyguard soon left to compete in Puerto Rico, but returned in 1993 as Big Sky, a new tag team partner for Vinnie Vegas. Although the team took on legendary stars like Ricky Steamboat, Sting and The British Bulldog, they disbanded later that year and Mane hung up the boots for good three years later.

Watch Mane as Big Sky battling Sting on WCW Saturday Night Trying his hand at the silver screen, Mane landed roles in “Joe Dirt,” “The Scorpion King” and other flicks. But Mane really turned heads with his turns as Sabretooth in “X-Men” and as the new Michael Myers in the “Halloween” remake and its subsequent sequel. Woody Strode Trailblazer Woody Strode was one of the most impressive athletes in the world during the 1930s and ’40s, boasting a shot put of more than 50 feet and a high jump of six feet and four inches — both near the then-world records. In 1939, he played alongside barrier-breakers Jackie Robinson and Kenny Washington on UCLA’s football team. He and Washington later signed with the Los Angeles Rams, becoming two of the first African-Americans to play in the NFL. Before hitting the pro gridiron, Strode hit the mat and wrestled legendary competitors like Gorgeous George and teamed with other African-American greats like Bobo Brazil and Bearcat Wright.

In the 1950s and ’60s, Strode became a bona fide Hollywood star with roles in “The Ten Commandments” and “Spartacus” alongside screen icons Charlton Heston and Kirk Douglas, respectively, and also became close with Academy Award–winning director John Ford. Lenny Montana You’ve gotta be pretty tough to earn the respect of Vito Corleone and Lenny “The Bull” Montana was as feared as they come. Before playing the role of imposing assassin and spy Luca Brasi in “The Godfather,” Lenny Passaforo was a bruising wrestler during the 1950s and ’60s. Early in his career, Montana teamed with noted tough guy Gene Kiniski to win the NWA Texas Tag Team Championship and later tagged up with first-ever WWE World Tag Team Champion Tarzan Tyler. On Oct. 4, 1960, Montana joined forces with Hard Boiled Haggerty to become the second AWA Tag Team Champions, but their reign was short-lived. In March of the following year, Montana suffered a broken leg at the hands of WWE Hall of Famer Verne Gagne.

The big Italian was given an offer he couldn’t refuse and ended up on the shelf. Due to his tremendous size and Italian background, Montana was heavily recruited by Hollywood in the ’70s, resulting in his decision to hang up the boots for good. Montana’s wrestling career slept with the fishes, but Luca Brasi’s life in crime was just about to begin. Tor Johnson Truth be told, in the ring, Tor Johnson was little more than a blatant rip-off. Born at the turn of the century in southern Sweden, Johnson was a bizarre-looking strongman who appeared in more than 30 films throughout his acting career. But as a wrestler, he was The Super Swedish Angel, a Scandinavian version of “The French Angel” Maurice Tillet, an equally macabre competitor. MORE: The 31 Scariest Superstars ever! Johnson barely made a dent in the squared circle, but became a B-movie icon after befriending sci-fi and horror movie director Ed Wood.

As a rotund and bald 400-pounder, the big Swede was a hit in movies like “Bride of the Monster” and the infamous dud “Plan 9 from Outer Space,” which an early “Seinfeld” episode even mocked as “the worst movie ever made.” In Tim Burton’s biopic, “Ed Wood,” WWE Hall of Famer George “The Animal” Steele played the frightening Tor, who in reality was nothing more than a big teddy bear. Perhaps it makes sense then that the once feared Steele became beloved in his post-wrestling days. Harold Sakata A silver medalist for the United States weightlifting team at the 1948 Olympic Games, Toshiyuki Sakata might have adopted the name Harold, but any James Bond fan is more familiar with him as Oddjob. As synonymous with 007 as a shaken martini, “Goldfinger’s” Oddjob has become one of the most recognizable antagonists in 50 years of Bond lore. Though Sakata was actually a Hawaiian born to Japanese parents, Oddjob was a stoic and seemingly indestructible karate master of Korean descent.

Remembered for his deadly hat that was lined with a razor in the rim, the decapitating bowler is one of the most iconic weapons in film history, and sold at auction in 2006 for $36,000. While Bond was able to avoid peril at the hands of Sakata’s Oddjob, grapplers in the 1950s and ’60s weren’t so lucky. Before the release of “Goldfinger,” Sakata achieved tremendous success in the squared circle as Tosh Togo, winning many titles across the United States and Canada. He did occasionally wrestle after encountering the famed secret agent on screen, and of course, he came to the ring in a bowler hat. Milton Reid Before Harold Sakata landed the role of Oddjob, it nearly went to a burly Indian-born Englishman named Milton Reid. The mustachioed brute played a litany of bruisers and bodyguards in films like “Swiss Family Robinson” and “The Return of the Pink Panther” during a screen career that spanned across four decades.

When casting for “Goldfinger” got underway, the big Indian lobbied for the role of the hat-throwing henchman, but Bond franchise producers declined. Reid had played a guard that perished in “Dr. No” two years earlier, so the part went to Sakata. Upset with losing out on the role, Reid challenged Sakata to a wrestling match in England. A ring veteran like his Hawaiian rival, the mighty Englishman had a prolific mat career under the persona of Mighty Chang. The encounter never took place, though, and Reid returned to the 007 series as Sandor in 1977’s “The Spy Who Loved Me.” Tiny Lister Any longtime wrestling fan that gets a kick out of squared circle camp loves the 1989 cult classic “No Holds Barred.” In the absurd professional wrestling caper, Hulk Hogan plays Rip, a ring champ who is forced to battle the monstrous Zeus, played by the actor Tom “Tiny” Lister. Sure, you may be familiar with Zeus’ epic silver screen encounter with Rip, but did you know he also had an actual, albeit brief, wrestling career?

Rare "No Holds Barred" photos | Watch the cult classics's trailer That year, Lister joined WWE as the same Human Wrecking Machine he played in the motion picture. Zeus immediately targeted Hogan to determine who deserved top billing in “No Holds Barred,” with the first big match occurring at SummerSlam where Zeus teamed with fellow Hogan rival “Macho King” Randy Savage to face off against The Immortal One & Brutus Beefcake . Following the baddies’ loss, Zeus later joined forces with The Powers of Pain & “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase, but came up short against Hulk, Jake “The Snake” Roberts and Demolition at Survivor Series . Zeus made a few more appearances, but quietly departed WWE while earning the coveted No. 500 spot on 1991’s perennially controversial PWI 500 list. Watch Zeus on The Brother Love Show | Visit the Alumni profile of Zeus Lister continued wrestling throughout the ’90s, most notably as Z-Gangsta , a member of The Alliance to End Hulkamania in WCW.

(What is it about that group that attracts sometimes-wrestlers?) Zeus eventually put away those giant shoulder pads for good and snagged roles in films like “The Fifth Element,” “Jackie Brown” and “Friday,” where he played neighborhood bully Deebo. Robert Maillet With an imposing six-foot-ten, 350-pound frame, Robert Maillet was built to be a professional wrestler. First competing for independent organizations across The Great White North, Maillet finally made a name for himself in WWE during The Attitude Era. Known as The Interrogator — a member of The Jackyl’s Truth Commission — and later as Kurrgan in the enormously popular Oddities faction , the behemoth was more dangerous than his awkward dancing and tie-dye suggested. After leaving his career in the squared circle behind, the former Insane Clown Posse companion found unexpected success in several silver screen blockbusters. He first made waves in Hollywood as the bloodthirsty Uber Immortal in Frank Miller’s epic “300,” for which Maillet won Best Fight at the MTV Movie Awards, and followed that up by socking Robert Downey, Jr.

in the jaw as Dredger in “Sherlock Holmes.” Most recently, the Oddity formerly known as Kurrgan nailed the role of Russian Jaeger pilot Aleksis Kaidanovsky in Guillermo del Toro’s adrenaline-pumping “Pacific Rim.” Next up are appearances in “Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters,” “The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones” and a villainous turn as the lead antagonist in the TV pilot for “The Strain.” With a showbiz career on the rise, Kurrgan’s days wrestling alongside an Eric Cartman doll are long since forgotten. InYo: Harold Sakata: Svinth Harold Sakata: Olympic Weightlifter and Professional Wrestler By Joseph R. Svinth Copyright © Joseph R. Svinth 2001. All rights reserved. An earlier version of this article appeared in Wrestling Then & Now 2000 Annual. For additional information, see . The assistance of Pat Baptiste, Jon Bluming, Lee Giles, Curtis Narimatsu, Brian Niiya, Norman Sakata, Robert W. Smith, the Japanese American National Museum, and the King County Landmarks and Heritage Commission is gratefully acknowledged.

Harold Sakata was born near Holualoa, in the Kona coffee country of the Big Island of Hawaiï¿½i, on January 7, 1920. His father was an Issei (Japanese immigrant) named Risaburo while his mother was a Nisei (American of Japanese ancestry) named Matsue. Growing up, Sakata had ten siblings -- six brothers and four sisters. Harold Sakata in his most famous role, that of the James Bond villain Oddjob In 1936, Sakata dropped out of school to help work the familyï¿½s coffee farm. The following year, he started paid employment at a sugar plantation located about 75 miles away from his home, after which he went to the island of Lanai to work on a pineapple plantation. He then moved to Maui to do more agricultural work, and in 1938 he ended up in Honolulu, a city he called home for the rest of life. [ EN1 ] At age eighteen, Sakata stood 5ï¿½8" but weighed only 113 pounds.

After seeing some physical culture magazines he decided to start lifting weights "so Iï¿½d look as good as the other guys." This took him to the Nuuanu YMCA, which was Honoluluï¿½s main Asian YMCA. (YMCAs were racially segregated then.) The gymnasium portion opened in May 1922, and was located on the corner of Fort and Vineyard. The current building is across the street; the old building was sited on what is today a Safeway parking lot. [ EN2 ] At the YMCA, Sakataï¿½s weightlifting partners included Emerick Ishikawa and Richard Tom. Ishikawa was from Maui while Tom was from the Honolulu suburb of Palama. After about a year of serious training Sakata had gained about twenty pounds. Inspired by this success he started entering local lifting contests and in 1941 he won the Territorial light-heavyweight championship.

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor stopped travel to the mainland but over the next two years Sakata won several more Oahu championships; in June 1943, at 165 pounds, he was pressing 250, snatching 240, and clean and jerking 310, for a total of 800 pounds. In January 1944, a photo of Sakata and Tom appeared in Bob Hoffmanï¿½s magazine Strength and Health. Soon after, Sakata joined the US Army, where he was assigned to the 1399th Engineer Construction Battalion. Known as the Chowhounds, this was a Japanese American unit activated in April 1944 at Schofield Barracks, outside Honolulu. General Douglas MacArthur twice requested that the 1399th be sent to the Philippines but instead the War Department kept the battalion in Hawaiï¿½i building water tanks, warehouses, airfields, and roads. Assigned to Special Services -- that is, the unit gym -- Sakata spent his time in the Army lifting weights. Following his discharge, Sakata remained in Honolulu.

Although the Nuuanu YMCA had a good weight room, it didnï¿½t have a regular trainer or coach. Instead the weightlifters simply read magazines (notably Strength and Health) and then tried different things. In essence, the Hawaiian weightlifters were self-coached regarding both technique and diet until the Korean American physician Richard You came along during the early 1950s. Nevertheless, some of these men, most notably Richard Tom, Richard Tomita, Robert Tong, and Gilbert Lum, were very serious about their lifting, and because he was both strong and gregarious, Sakata soon became their leader. Training took place after work, which normally meant between 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. Mondays through Friday. By modern standards their technique was not horribly sophisticated. For example, most lifters then used the split technique when cleaning the bar. Now they use the squat technique pioneered by Tommy Kono during the late 1940s. "I had this fear of dropping the bar on my front leg while doing the split, even though it never happened," Kono told interviewer Brian Niiya in 1999.

"So I tried the squat and it felt very natural, and I felt like I could lift more that way." And, as Kono was among best lifters in the world during the early 1950s, first the York Barbell team and then everyone else followed suit. Another difference between then and now was that then there was little cross training. There were boxers and wrestlers, for example, who trained at the YMCA, but like the weightlifters, they kept to themselves. During a tournament held at the Nuuanu YMCA on November 1, 1946, Sakata set a Hawaiian record in both the snatch and the clean-and-jerk, plus an unofficial world record in the press. The following year he also won the Mr. Hawaii physique title. Training for Mr. Hawaii required a different regimen than training for the Olympic-style AAU championships. For example, the Olympic-style lifters didnï¿½t do curls.

In December 1965, Sakata told a reporter from the Honolulu Star-Bulletin that he succeeded in both aspects of the iron game because hard work was nothing new to him: "I didnï¿½t have an easy time working in the coffee fields and bringing home the money. Lots of times I wanted toys and wondered why life was so hard." In Honolulu, Henry Koizumi, athletic director of the Nuuanu YMCA, suggested that Sakata and Tom organize a weightlifting team. The goal was to place well in the US Nationals, which were held in Dallas, Texas, on the weekend of June 20-21, 1947. Sakata placed first in the 181-pound class with a total lift of 800 pounds. Tom meanwhile placed first in the 123-pound division with a total lift of 610 pounds. After the Nationals, Sakata and Tom went to York, Pennsylvania. There they visited Emerick Ishikawa, who had moved to the mainland shortly before World War II and then become a national-class member of the York Barbell Club.

Bob Hoffman, president of the York Barbell Company and the de facto head of the US Olympic weightlifting program, gave the visiting Hawaiians jobs in his barbell factory so they ended up staying in York until the World Championships, which were held in Philadelphia in August 1947. During these championships Tom took second and Sakata took fourth. After that Tom and Sakata returned to Honolulu. Knowing that he had a good chance at making the US Olympic team, Sakata trained hard during the 1947-1948 season. As a result, he was ready for the US Senior Nationals, which were held in Los Angeles on May 13-14, 1948, and ended up taking second overall. This in turn earned him an invitation to the Olympic tryouts held in New York City on July 9, where he placed second to York Barbell Clubï¿½s Stan Stancyzk. This was good enough for a berth on the US squad, and in London Sakata again took second to Stanczyk, thus earning an Olympic silver medal. "It was the biggest thrill of my life," the 28-year old Sakata told Pacific Citizen afterwards.

"I certainly didnï¿½t expect to finish that high against the worldï¿½s best." [ EN3 ] In May 1949, Sakata traveled to Cleveland for the US Senior Nationals. The outstanding lifter was again Stan Stanczyk, who set a worldï¿½s record. For Sakata, though, it was a disappointing trip, as this time he only took third. Harold Sakata, circa 1950 With his 20-inch neck and 50-inch chest, Sakata was no longer the skinny kid from Kona. But, after winning the Mr. Waikiki physique competition and touring California in 1949, Sakata told Pacific Citizen, "A very wise man asked me if I were happy. Sure, I said. ï¿½And youï¿½re proud of those silver trophies?ï¿½ Sure Iï¿½m proud.

ï¿½Now letï¿½s see if you can eat them,ï¿½ he said." This made him think, so after setting four Hawaiian records during the Nuuanu YMCA Senior Invitational weightlifting tournament held in Honolulu on December 18, 1949, Sakata gave up amateur weightlifting for professional wrestling. At first he planned on retiring in five years and then opening his own gym. But in the end wrestling became his life. The reason, he told the Star-Bulletin in 1965, was that after five years in the business, "I realized I was still an apprentice and then I knew you donï¿½t learn anything the easy way." Sakataï¿½s wrestling instructors included the former professional wrestlers Tetsuro ("Rubberman") Higami and Ben Sherman. Higami, Sakata told Pacific Citizen in 1951, was the greatest living wrestler of Japanese ancestry in the United States. And, as a US Olympic medalist and discharged war veteran, Sakata didnï¿½t have to play a heel. Instead he was billed as "Mr.

Sakata, the Human Tank" and given scripts that allowed him to win using honorable methods. Sakataï¿½s mainland debut took place in Seattle on April 3, 1950. His opponent was Pacific Coast Junior Heavyweight Champion Bob Cummins, and Sakata got to win. "We missed the show," Budd Fukei wrote in the Northwest Times afterward, "but the fans reportedly got quite a ban out of Sakataï¿½s wearing a colorful Japanese apparel [a black silk robe] with getas [wooden clogs] to boot." Sakata in "colorful Japanese apparel" A couple days later "the body beautiful from Hawaii," as Fukei termed him, paired with Tacomaï¿½s Frank Stojack in a tag-team match to score another commercial success. Over the next few weeks Sakata also achieved victories over Charlie Carr and Danno McDonald. His favorite techniques included flying hip throws "in which the opponent is slammed against the ropes and then caught and thrown on the rebound." The circuit was not an easy life.

Sakata "usually wrestles four or five times a week," Larry Tajiri explained in Pacific Citizen in January 1951, "appearing on wrestling bills hundreds of miles apart on successive nights. One night, for instance, he headlined a show in Klamath Falls, Ore., and the next night was in Vancouver, British Columbia, more than 400 miles to the north. He has appeared in fishing towns like Nanaimo on British Columbiaï¿½s Vancouver Island and in cities like Seattle, Portland, Spokane and Tacoma." The job sometimes required Sakata to do odd things, such as tussling with "Gorgeous Gus, the wrestling bear" in Ogden, Utah, in January 1951. But it also had its rewards. For example, in Seattle in July 1950, Sakata proved a great hit with a group of Japanese American teenagers taken to Tex Porterï¿½s wrestling show as the guests of King County police officer Don Armeni. In another Seattle wrestling show a week later the highlights included meeting former world middleweight boxing champion Freddie Steele, who was referee for the night.

During late 1950 and early 1951, Sakata wrestled throughout the Intermountain West. Besides Salt Lake City, this circuit included stops in Logan, Ogden, and Provo, Utah; Ontario, Oregon; and Idaho Falls, Idaho. "He traveled by train, plane and bus to his matches," Larry Tajiri wrote in January 1951, "but this week bought a new sedan to use on his tours." From February to May 1951, Sakata was in Washington and Oregon. After that it was east to tour the US and Canadian Midwest. In the Midwest he was frequently paired in tag-team matches with the Japanese Canadian heel Tor Yamato (real name: Toyoki Uyeda). In July 1951 Sakata went to Honolulu, where promoter Al Karasick was holding a tournament featuring Mike Mazurki and Danny McShain. About the same time, Tokyoï¿½s Torii Oasis Shrine Club decided to bring some American professional wrestlers to Japan for the purpose of raising $50,000 for crippled children. Shrine Club leaders involved in this plan included Maurice Lipton, Bernard Diamond, Frank Scolinas, and Joe Miller.

Karasick was contacted, and wrestlers who flew Pan American into Tokyo on Saturday, September 15, 1951 included Sakata and Bobby Bruns. Four days later they were joined by Len Hall and Casey Berger, who in turn were followed by Ovila Asselin, Pete Demetros, and Gino Vagnone. Bobby Bruns, ca. 1952 The first show was for Japanese police officers only, and was held at the Tokyo police gym on September 25, 1951. Two days later the wrestlers put on another show for United Nations soldiers recuperating at the Tokyo Army Hospital. The first public show took place at Tokyoï¿½s Memorial Hall on September 30, 1951. According to the Nippon Times, "Sakata seemed to use a jujitsu trick in his flying hip move to throw the giant Casey Berger." Another public exhibition took place at the Tokyo Kokugikan (the prewar sumo hall and the largest sports arena in Asia) on October 14, 1951. Two weeks after that, yet another exhibition was staged at Memorial Hall.

This exhibition was significant because it marked the professional wrestling debut of Rikidozan (birth name Kim Sin-rak), a Korean sumotori who went on to become perhaps the most popular professional wrestler of the late twentieth century. The result, if it matters, was a ten-minute draw with Bobby Bruns. [ EN4 ] On November 14, 1951, the troupe went to Yokohama, where they appeared at the Fryarsï¿½ Gym. The opening acts included sumotori Rikidozan versus wrestler Ovila Asselin and judoka Kokichi Endo (Ko Togo in the US) versus wrestler Bobby Bruns. Meanwhile, the aging heavyweight champion boxer Joe Louis announced a visit to Japan. Louis liked doing charity shows, so Tokyoï¿½s Torii Shriners had no trouble convincing his manager to add Louis to Shriner wrestling cards. As there were no competent Japanese heavyweights, the opponents found for Louis were all US military boxers. The Shrinersï¿½ Carnival of Sports took place at Tokyoï¿½s Korakuen Stadium on November 18, 1951, and started about 1:30 p.m.

Although priced at ¥1,800-¥2,000 (about US $2.75-$3.00), which was a lot for those days, more than ten thousand tickets were sold. The matches started with five fights between US military boxers. Next the professional wrestlers entered the ring: Ovila Asselin drew with Rikidozan, Andre Adore drew with Harold Sakata, and Bobby Bruns beat Gino Vagnone. Finally Louis entered the ring, where he scored two knockouts in six rounds against five opponents. One of the opponents Louis didnï¿½t knock out was Seattleï¿½s Lee Giles. Giles was a 40mm gunner from the cruiser USS Toledo. Giles had recently won the Far East Area Command light heavyweight championship, but the bout with Louis was still just the fourth boxing match in his career. Therefore he decided on a cautious strategy. "From the movies, I knew Louis was big," said Giles in 1999. "But when I walked out to face the guy, I couldnï¿½t see around him. Luckily it was an exhibition. He moved in a kind of a halting way.

You know that shuffle that he had? I was fast enough to keep away. So I did everything but run. I was Ali without the sting. I remember hitting him once, right in the forehead. It was like hitting a wall." Two days later Louis and the wrestlers traveled to Sendai, Osaka, and Sapporo. As usual, they did exhibitions for US military personnel at their bases and hospitals, and in between played a lot of golf. The troupe reached Yokohama on December 2, 1951, and during a match in that city Louis fought six opponents. The main event featured Louis against the Far Eastern Area Command heavyweight champion K.O. Hubbard, who fell in the second round of a scheduled six-rounder. The wrestling events included Sakabe versus Sakata, Endo versus Adoree, Rikidozan versus Asselin, and a tag-team match. "Endo and Rikido-zan have improved with every bout," said the Nippon Times on December 5, 1951.

"Rikido-zanï¿½s stomach blows after cornering his opponent is something new to wrestling and is going over with the growing ranks of wrestling fans here." While Louis then returned to Tokyo to participate in a celebrity golf match, the wrestlers repeated their act in Yokohama on December 9, 1951. This time Endo went with Asselin, Rikidozan went with Sakata, and afterwards there was once again a tag-team match. Louis left Japan during the early morning of December 13, 1951. While in Taipei, Taiwan, on December 14, the Associated Press reported that "Tough-paunched Wang Shu-chin, 47, invited anyone to take a swing at his solar plexus. He insisted Louis try, too. Louis said no, he might kill the man." Additional details of Wang Shu-chinï¿½s iron belly appear in Robert W. Smithï¿½s Martial Musings (Erie, PA: Via Media Publishing, 1999), 181-185. For their part, the wrestlers left Japan in January 1952.

Before leaving, Sakata married a Japanese woman. (Like many Japanese Americans of his generation, Sakata spoke conversational Japanese and English about equally well.) In May 1952 Sakata returned to the Pacific Northwest, and on May 26 he appeared in a televised match in Seattle. Other Japanese wrestlers on this card included former All-Japan judo champion Masahiko Kimura and former Utah football player Robert Shibuya. Kimura returned to Japan to establish the International Pro-Wrestling Force in Kumamoto, but he quit this in 1955 and went back to teaching judo. His most famous student was probably the Canadian Olympic silver medalist Doug Rogers. Shibuya meanwhile went on to become the well-known heel Kinji Shibuya. As Shibuya told Rafu Shimpoï¿½s George Yoshinaga in August 1999, "The meaner I acted in the ring, the richer I walked out of it. Playing the bad guy was fun. I would have been a run-of-the-mill wrestler without the dirty stuff. As a villain, I became a champion." During 1953 Sakata wrestled throughout the United States and Canada.

As he was scheduled to be a heel he was now known as "Tosh Togo" rather than "Mr. Sakata." "I took the name Tosh Togo," Sakata said, "because Toshiyuki is my middle name and Togo was a great man in Japan. Not Tojo -- Togo, the admiral who outmaneuvered the Russians in 1906 [sic; the Battle of Tsushima Straits was actually fought in May 1905]." Sakata as Tosh Togo Somewhere during this period Sakata encountered an Irish wrestler named Charles "Tim" Geoghegan. "Strangler Lewis managed me for two years (1949-50)," Geoghegan told Robert W. Smith years later. "Lewis liked me because of my sleeper which made weight irrelevant. It brought them all down to size. I didnï¿½t learn my sleeper from Lewis but developed it from a choke against both carotids taught me in London during World War II by Dr. Kasutu Higami, a ju-jitsu adept in his 80ï¿½s.

I blended it with a one-carotid choke I got from Indian wrestling. It was so decisive that I would sometimes have the ring full of the bodies of challengers from the audience. In Toronto once I had twenty asleep at the same time. When Harold (ï¿½Oddjobï¿½) Sakata of ï¿½James Bondï¿½ movie fame first met me in California he couldnï¿½t believe that I could choke him out and, when he came to, he thought he was back in Montreal the week before." When he wasnï¿½t wrestling, Sakata entertained the crowds by breaking bricks with his hands. He may have learned this trick from Mas Oyama, a Korean who toured the North American wrestling circuit during the 1952-1953 season. [ EN5 ] Jon Bluming, who studied karate with Oyama during the early 1960s, described Oyamaï¿½s breaking tricks as follows: "I went to the pile of tiles they had prepared for punishment and picked up the top tile. It felt like paper, it was so light, and on its underside was a baked-in line along the length of the tile.

So at the middle the tile was maybe a millimeter thickï¿½The bricks were no different. They were specially baked, and if someone leaned on them they would crumble. His wood was also very lightweight. As for that famous bottle trick, first you prepare the bottle by rolling a sharp stone around the bottleï¿½s neck. That way when you hit it, it breaks along the carved line." This, by the way, is not to say that Oyama and Sakata couldnï¿½t perform such tricks legitimately, only that in the ring they rarely left anything so important to chance. Mas Oyama as Mas Togo, circa 1952. Photo courtesy Jon Bluming. Since Sakata was a former Olympic champion, the promoters sometimes allowed him to become a tag-team champion. For example, in July 1954 Sakata paired with the Great Togo (Oregonï¿½s Kazuo "George" Okamura) to become the Canadian tag-team champions. In Tokyo in November 1955, he and Rikidozan became the All-Asian Tag Team champions, and shortly after that Sakata became the Hawaiian Territorial champion.

In 1960, he and Ike Eakins were proclaimed the Southern US tag-team champions, and in late 1962 he and "King" Curtis Iaukea were pronounced the Hawaiian tag-team champions. During the late 1950s Sakata spent a lot of time wrestling in Japan, where he lived with his wife and two children (son Jon, born September 1954 and daughter Glenna, born July 1957). The travel was constant, however, and this caused his marriage to fall apart during the early 1960s. During February 1963 Sakata toured Australia, where he was known as Tosh Tojo, probably because the latter name, alluding as it did to Japanï¿½s wartime prime minister, did a better job of inciting the Australian fans. After that he went to Europe. While in London Harry Saltzman and Albert Broccoli saw him on British television and this led to Sakata being selected to play Oddjob in their upcoming film Goldfinger.

[ EN6 ] Written by Ian Fleming during late 1957 and early 1958, Goldfinger pitted secret agent James Bond against Auric Goldfinger and his taciturn bodyguard, a Korean killer whom Goldfinger called "Oddjob because that describes his functions on my staff." In the book, Bond eventually killed Oddjob by means of sticking his commando knife through an airliner window. This depressurized the cabin and caused the Korean to be sucked through the opening "with a terrible whistling noise" as though his "body was toothpaste." In the movie, however, the scene was changed so that Oddjob was electrocuted after reaching into an electric fence to retrieve the alloy-rimmed bowler hat that was his trademark weapon. Explained Gene Hunter in the HonoluluAdvertiser in December 1965: "They had to shoot Oddjobï¿½s death scene twice -- once from a distance and once as a close-up. Technicians used fireworks to simulate the sparks shooting out from the electric fence, but something went wrong. Sakata got a painful burn on his right hand and wrist. For the second scene he was offered an asbestos glove but refused to wear it.

The second time one of the sparks shot into the seat of Oddjobï¿½s pants. ï¿½I showed agony in my face as I was dying,ï¿½ Sakata said. "ï¿½That was real pain.ï¿½" It took Sakata five months to master Oddjobï¿½s trick of spinning his bowler hat. "Itï¿½s not like throwing," he told the Star-Bulletin in December 1965: "Itï¿½s the whip, the spin, the slicing blade. Like a boomerang that doesnï¿½t come back. I worked with a plaster statue of a girl and aimed for the neck. I got so I could topple the head off every time. It made me very conscious of necks. Every time Iï¿½d meet a pretty girl, Iï¿½d say, ï¿½My, you have an attractive neck.ï¿½ I really felt terrible about that lovely girl in the film. ï¿½Canï¿½t I kill an ugly one?ï¿½ I asked the producer.

ï¿½Not Oddjob,ï¿½ he said." One final story from the filming of Goldfinger relates to the day that Sakata was riding in a yellow Rolls Royce through Switzerland. Said Sakata: "We passed a military compound. I was glazed with a hangover that day and sat in the back seat staring into space. As we passed the sergeant at arms, he and a corps of troops gave me a full salute. I was very flattered. My chauffeur exchanged a few words with the sergeant and as we drove on he told me the Swiss army thought I was the Japanese ambassador on my way to the Geneva convention." Although Goldfinger was Sakataï¿½s most successful film -- the residuals included an 11" Oddjob action figure sold through Sears for $6.99 -- he also appeared in at least seventeen other productions. Among the more obscure were Death Travels in a Box, a French-Spanish-Italian production never released in the United States, and A Poppy Also Is a Flower.

(Based on "an idea by Ian Fleming," as the executors of Flemingï¿½s estate put it, the latter film was about the international heroin industry.) And he also made appearances on the Tonight Show and television commercials. [ EN7 ] Despite this cinematic success Sakata remained the same pleasant, gregarious man he had always been. He always signed autographs for children and whenever in Hawaiï¿½i he held reunions with his Olympic weightlifting buddies. Since his death, however, such reunions have been rare. "We should get together," said Richard Tomita told Brian Niiya in 1999. "We donï¿½t want to just meet at the funerals." But Sakata did adopt Oddjobï¿½s bowler hat as his professional trademark. "You should see the commotion it causes," Sakata told Gene Hunter in December 1965. "It frightens the women, but they still want to touch it." There was a gash in the top, too. "I was showing it to a young lady," Sakata told Cobey Black in the Star-Bulletin, "and her escort didnï¿½t like the idea. He took out a knife and slashed it.

A mad man. I tell you, I meet all kinds of people." (Speaking of the famous hat, in September 1998 the British auction house of Christieï¿½s auctioned it for £61,750. The previous owner was Graham Rye of the James Bond fan club; the new owner is anonymous.) Harold Sakata died July 29, 1982, aged 62. The cause of death was liver cancer, which within six months metastasized to other internal organs. Although written almost twenty years before Sakataï¿½s death, the following summation of his life by British reporter Bill Fryer provides a fitting epitaph: "He flits about the world so fast and so often that though he makes many friends in many places he is rooted to none. What a pity! This strong man who could kill with one blow of the hand has so much friendship in that hand to offer." For Further Reading Fair, John D. Muscletown USA: Bob Hoffman and the Manly Culture of York Barbell (University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1999) Niiya, Brian, ed.

More Than A Game: Sport in the Japanese American Community (Los Angeles: Japanese American National Museum, 2000) Reynolds, William Mason. "A History of Menï¿½s Competitive Weightlifting in the United States from its Inception through 1972," unpublished MS thesis, University of Washington, 1973 Endnotes EN1. For descriptions and photos of life on the Kona coffee plantations during the 1930s, use the search features at the University of Hawaiï¿½i site . (Try the keywords "Kona plantation".) EN2. To my knowledge, there is no early history of the Nuuanu YMCA easily available on the Internet, therefore a detour. In 1899, Reverend Takie Okumura organized a Honolulu baseball team called the Excelsiors. A year later, Okumura helped organize a four-team league, and after that, ethnic involvement in Hawaiian sport became fairly widespread. Meanwhile, Asian students attended the YMCAï¿½s college at Springfield, Massachusetts, and joined the YMCA in Tokyo and Shanghai.

So in 1911 a clerk at the Japanese consulate applied for membership to the YMCA at Hotel and Alaska streets in Honolulu, and this caused significant controversy: should an Asian be allowed to join an American YMCA? After months of heated public debate, the Japanese was finally offered membership, but by then of course he was unwilling to join. So in March 1912 B.M. Matsuzawa of the Tokyo YMCA came to Honolulu for the express purpose of opening a Hawaiian YMCA that would cater to Asians. In September 1912, a Missouri missionary named Lloyd Killam joined Matsuzawa, and between them, they began offering English and Japanese-language Bible classes in a room at the Central YMCA. During a sabbatical to the Midwest in 1915, Killam convinced several friends to join him in Hawaii, and in 1916 these missionaries began campaigning for an interracial YMCA in the Islands. The existing (white) leadership of the Hawaiian YMCA opposed this, so in March 1917 the missionaries set about raising money for a dedicated Asian facility.

Gifts and public subscription soon raised the necessary funds, and the Nuuanu YMCAï¿½s first meeting rooms opened in April 1918. During the dedication, 600 Japanese sailors were marched into a membership luncheon for the Korean members. "When the eight Koreans sat calmly and enjoyed their lunch meeting and did not throw a sugar bowl or a dish at one of the naval men," said Killam afterwards, "I knew that the inter-racial plan would be a success." Over the next five years, membership grew, and so did the facilities. The large gymnasium, for example, dated to 1922, while the swimming pool opened in 1924. So, by April 1937, as Killam proudly noted in articles published in the Nippu Jiji, there were 119 boysï¿½ clubs affiliated with the Nuuanu YMCA, and 2,766 young men using the facility on a regular basis. EN3. For a photo of Sakata at the 1948 Olympics, see the top left image at the Japanese American National Museum site .

Rubberman Higami is immediately below, and Tommy Kono is at the bottom right. EN4. According to the Japanese wrestling media, Rikidozan took up professional wrestling after losing a bar fight with Sakata. However, neither Rikidozan nor Sakata was usually a confrontational man. For example, in 1961 two judoka named Jon Bluming and Bill Backhus were out on the town in Tokyo. Says Bluming: "A carload of guys cut us off. They were hangers-on of Rikidozan, the professional wrestler, and having just seen him in a match, they thought they were pretty tough. But after we dragged them out of their car and gave them a piece of our mind, we then marched them into the restaurant where Rikidozan went and said, "What is this? You want a fight, weï¿½ll give you a fight!" Rikidozan looked at us and laughed, saying, "What do you guys want for dinner? Itï¿½s on me, whatever you want." Therefore the story of his fight with Sakata is probably a promotional legend. EN5.

Details of Oyamaï¿½s act appear in "Sticks and stones donï¿½t break his bones," Scene, June 1952, 31-33; Nat Loubet, "News of the Mat World," Ring, September 1952, 28; and Chester A. Thomas and William F. Brown II, "Karate: Pictures Tell the Story," Argosy, October 1953, 32-35. See also Masatatsu Oyama, The Kyokushin Way (Tokyo: Japan Publications, 1979), 30-31. EN6. For a discussion of Goldfinger that includes a photo of Sakata, see . EN7. For a filmography, see . UPDATE Nov 2002 According to a letter from the National Personnel Records Center dated October 24, 2002, Harold T. Sakata, 30109509, entered the Army of the United States on June 21, 1944, and served until March 4, 1946.

His rank at discharge was Technician 5th Grade. Harold Sakata - Biography - IMDb Harold Sakata Jump to: Overview (4) | Mini Bio (1) | Trivia (4) Overview (4) 5' 10" (1.78 m) Mini Bio (1) The most famous henchman of the entire James Bond series of spy thrillers, Harold Sakata will forever be remembered as the villainous "Odd Job" in the ultimate Bond film, Goldfinger (1964), with his lethal martial arts and steel-brimmed bowler hat. He was born Toshiyuki Sakata in Hawaii, of Japanese descent. From a young age he was a proficient sportsman who developed a keen interest in wrestling, and won a Silver Medal in weightlifting for the light heavyweight division of the 1948 Summer Olympics in London. Sakata then went on to become a professional wrestler, and appeared under the name "Tosh Togo" where he became a "bad guy" wrestler who allegedly threw salt in his opponent's eyes. Although he had no acting background, Sakata came to the attention of Bond producers Harry Saltzman and Albert R.

Broccoli when they were casting for the key role of the mute Asian villain "Odd Job". Sakata's steely gaze and powerful physique made him perfect for the role as Auric Goldfinger's ( Gert Fröbe ) deadly bodyguard, and the fight sequence between Sean Connery and Sakata in a glittering, gold-filled Fort Knox remains one of the highlights of the Bond series. Unfortunately, Sakata never broke free of the "Odd Job" stereotype, and his remaining film appearances saw him cast as military figures, muscle-bound brutes or further mute bodyguards. He died from cancer in 1982, but had assured himself a very unique place in modern film history. - IMDb Mini Biography By: firehouse44 Trivia (4) Won a silver medal in light-heavyweight weight-lifting at the 1948 summer Olympics. He pursued a successful career as a professional wrestler before moving into acting. Weighed 284 lbs at the time of Goldfinger (1964). Sakata apparently liked his role in the movie Goldfinger (1964) so much that he took "Oddjob" as an informal middle name.

In the rehearsals at the Golf Club where he is to throw his hat at the statue, with the head subsequently falling off, after three attempts the special effects crew could not "arrange" the head to fall off correctly. On the fourth take he told the special effects team to just stand still - then he threw his iron-brimmed hat at the statues neck and successful severed the head at the neck on the "first" attempt - to the amazement of all!. See also Harold Sakata | Pro Wrestling | Fandom powered by Wikia c. 1975 Toshiyuki "Harold" Sakata (July 1, 1920 – July 29, 1982 ) was an American Olympic weightlifter, professional wrestler , and film actor of Japanese descent who is most famous for his role as the villain Oddjob in the James Bond film Goldfinger. Career Toshiyuki Sakata was born on July 1, 1920 in Holualoa, Hawaii .

He moved to the United States mainland and began to go by the more Western name "Harold." At the age of eighteen, he weighed only 113 lb (8 st 1 lb) (51 kg) at a height of 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m). Wanting to "look as good as the other guys", he started lifting weights. He spent his early life training as a weightlifter and won a silver medal for the United States at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London , lifting a total of 410 kg in the heavyweight division. He also did a stint as a professional wrestler under the name Tosh Togo from the early 1950s until the early 1960s, becoming Canadian Tag Team Champion. Bond producers Harry Saltzman and Albert R. Broccoli took notice of Sakata because of his heavy build— he stood 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) and weighed 284 lb (129 kg)—which, when coupled with his intimidating gaze, made him the perfect choice for the part of Oddjob.

He had no acting background at all besides pro wrestling but the film character was to be mute and would require little theatrical skill. Before Sakata had secured the role of Oddjob, another former wrestler, British actor Milton Reid, had auditioned for the role. In 1964 Reid challenged Sakata to a wrestling contest and suggested that the winner ought to get the role. However, given that Reid had been in Dr. No and that his character had been killed off, the producers decided to go with Sakata and the wrestling match did not take place. As Oddjob, he was bodyguard to Bond villain Auric Goldfinger and his sharpened, steel-brimmed bowler hat became a famous and much-parodied trademark of the Bond series. While filming Oddjob's death scene, Sakata's hand was badly burnt, but he held on until he heard director Guy Hamilton say "Cut". Sakata appeared in several other movies in similar roles and took on "Oddjob" as an informal middle name (he was seen in the film The Happy Hooker Goes to Washington credited as Harold "Oddjob" Sakata). With time, Sakata's acting skills improved.

He co-starred opposite William Shatner in the 1974 movie Impulse, in which he played the character Karate Pete. He also guest starred on a Gilligan's Island episode as Rory Calhoun's henchman. In 1971, Sakata was a regular on the short-lived TV series, "Sarge", starring George Kennedy. He appeared as Oddjob in a series of TV commercials for Vicks Formula 44 cough syrup in the 1970s. The advertisement showed Oddjob with a nasty cough, which results in him demolishing the neighborhood and frightening a woman inside her house as his cough spasms grow worse and worse. The woman grabs a bottle of Vicks Formula 44 and races for the door, only to see Oddjob karate chop through it. She quickly opens the door and gives him a spoonful of the cough syrup, which cures his cough. The two bow to each other, and the woman looks past Oddjob to see the destruction he has caused. He made an appearance on the The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson on which he parodied the commercial by destroying Carson's set.

Sakata died of liver cancer on July 29, 1982, in Honolulu , Hawaii . Top 10 Wrestlers in Movies 10 Reasons To Take Up Running Top 10 Wrestlers in Movies To celebrate the release of Recoil, the latest action vehicle for former six time WWE champion Stone Cold Steve Austin which is released on Blu-ray & DVD from April 16th, we bring you the top ten wrestlers on film... To celebrate the release of Recoil , the latest action vehicle for former six time WWE champion Stone Cold Steve Austin which is released on Blu-ray & DVD from April 16th, we bring you the top ten wrestlers on film... 10. Mike Mazurki A talented athlete in high school, Mike Mazurki competed professionally as a wrestler, basketball player and American footballer. But it is as a towering heavy in a string of movies during the 1940s and 50s that he is best remembered now.

None was better than Farewell My Lovely (1944) aka Murder, My Sweet, a Raymond Chandler tale that cast him as the lovestruck goon Moose Malloy opposite Dick Powells sharp witted private detective Philip Marlowe. 9. Tor Johnson A Swedish born wrestler, billed as The Super Swedish Angel, Tor Johnson occupies a very particular place in screen history. Not so much for the supporting performances he delivered with varying degrees of menace in films like The Lemon Drop Kid (1951) and Carousel (1956) but for the part of the police inspector turned zombie he played in Ed Woods compellingly awful Plan 9 From Outer Space (1959)  a film considered by some to be the worst ever made. 8. Andre The Giant 7. John Cena A 10 time World Wrestling Entertainment champion, John Cena has tried his hand at music  he is a sometime hip hop artist  and dabbled in movies too.

Films such as The Marine (2006), 12 Rounds (2009) and the cultish Fred: The Movie (2010) dominate his CV and have performed respectably on DVD. 6. Harold Sakata An unsmiling but memorable Bond villain, Oddjob in Goldfinger (1964) was memorably embodied by Hawaiian born wrestler Harold Sakata. Sakata actually won a silver medal in a weightlifting event at the London Olympics of 1948, but in the following decade turned to professional wrestling under the name the Great Tosh Togo. A regular on ITVs Saturday afternoon wrestling coverage, Sakata was spotted by director Guy Hamilton and invited to test for the role of Goldfingers mute but deadly chauffeur. 5. Brian Glover Another wrestler familiar to British grapple fans, Leon Aris (the Man From Paris) soon became better known under his own name Brian Glover (1934-1997) thanks to his rich Yorkshire accent and scene stealing performances in a range of films and tv programmes.

Too many to list here, one of the best was overbearing games master Mr Sugden in Ken Loachs Kes (1969), most notably in the football scene. And that, boys, is how to take a penalty,. 4. Rowdy Roddy Piper A Canadian born wrestler and 2005 inductee to the WWE Hall of Fame, Rowdy Roddy Piper might not have been the most successful exponent of his sport, but he can claim the distinction of being the star of a genuine cult classic. John Carpenter directed They Live (1988) and cast Piper as the drifter hero of the piece, a man who discovers a special pair of glasses that reveal the true alien form of the elite members of society whose malign rule we suffer as they live among us. 3. Stone Cold Steve Austin A six time WWF champion, Steve Stone Cold Austin made his way into acting via small roles in television series, and increasingly in action movies that played to his physicality and intimidating ring persona.

He appeared in Adam Sandlers remake of The Longest Yard (2005), played the lead in The Condemned (2007) and featured in the testosterone fuelled tale The Expendables (2010). Increasingly active in cinema, he takes the lead in the bruising action thriller Recoil (2012). 2. Hulk Hogan When he first made a cameo appearance as comically vain Thunderlips in Rocky III (1982) Hulk Hogan announced his larger than life star quality to a wider audience. Having spearheaded the rise in popularity of the World Wrestling Federation he clearly felt movies were the next target and for a while Terry Hogan filled a family friendly niche with middling hits such as Suburban Commando (1991), Mr Nanny (1993) and Santa With Muscles (1996). 1. Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson He was born Dwayne Johnson but wrestling fans recognised him as The Rock the world over.

He segued from the villainous Scorpion King in The Mummy Returns (2001) and in fairly short order carved out a productive career in simple action flicks like Walking Tall (2004). But he showed admirable ambition to stretch himself in Be Cool (2005) while also delivering family friendly fare such as Race To Witch Mountain (2009). RECOIL is out on Blu-ray and DVD from Entertainment One on 16th April 2012. Harold Sakata - Filmbug Harold Sakata Harold Sakata Toshiyuki Harold Sakata (July 1, 1920-1982 was a film actor most famous for his role as the villain Oddjob in the James Bond film Goldfinger. Toshiyuki Sakata was born on July 1, 1920 in Holualoa, Hawaii, of Korean descent; when he moved to mainland America he began to go by the more Western name Harold. He spent his early life training as a wrestler and won a silver medal at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London; he also did a stint as a professional wrestler under the name Tosh Togo.

Bond producers Harry Saltzman and Albert Broccoli took notice of Sakata because his heavy build - he stood 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) and weighed 284 lb (129 kg) - coupled with his intimidating gaze made him the perfect choice for the part of Oddjob. He had no acting background at all, but the character was mute and required little theatrical skill. As Oddjob, he was bodyguard to Bond villain Auric Goldfinger and his sharpened, steel-brimmed bowler hat became a famous and much-parodied trademark of the Bond series. He appeared in several other movies in similar roles and took on Oddjob as a middle name. He also appeared in a series of TV commercials for cough syrup, the premise of which was that he had a severe cough, causing him to smash everything in sight until someone gave him cough syrup. Sakata died on July 29, 1982 in Honolulu, Hawaii, of cancer. Retrieved from Note: This profile was written in or before 2004. Harold Sakata Facts

Question: Which iconic movie villain was played by a wrestler with the professional name of Tosh Togo?
Answer: Oddjob